Magistrate given warning for posting Hamas video

A magistrate has been given a formal warning for serious misconduct by a judicial watchdog for sharing on social media a video from Hamas about the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel.

Abdul Malik, who is also a Bristol City councillor and mosque leader, originally claimed he had only been tagged in the post but later accepted he must have shared the post himself.

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) found Mr Malik had "failed to exercise due care and diligence" and his actions "had a detrimental effect" upon the "reputation of the magistracy".

The Green Party councillor has apologised repeatedly for the incident and insisted that he does not support Hamas.

The party said "he has made abundantly clear that he does not endorse" the contents of the post he shared.

In a statement published on Tuesday, the JCIO said the post on Mr Malik's Facebook timeline in October 2023 contained "a video from Hamas regarding their attack on southern Israel".

Mr Malik told the media in early 2024 that he had been tagged in the post by someone else, and that it appeared on his account because it was not protected.

But this account was challenged and he later informed his superiors that he had "discovered he must have shared the post himself", with an investigation then launched.

The JCIO said: "He explained that he had shared the post without checking its source or content, and did not endorse it, comment on it or 'like' it.

"He agreed the post was offensive and he emphasised that he does not support Hamas.

"He said he had been consistently critical of Hamas in his position as chair of a large mosque in Bristol. He removed the post as soon as he became aware of it and said he regretted sharing it and had learned from the incident."

The JCIO said Mr Malik claimed his original explanation was given "in good faith" and that he had revised it when he realised it was not correct.

A nominated JCIO committee member found that Mr Malik's initial denial of responsibility for the post "was publicly discredited and compounded the damage caused by the initial sharing of the post".

Committee members recommended that Mr Malik be issued with a formal warning, noting his "previously unblemished conduct record and good standing within the community".

The added he had been "consistently remorseful" following the incident.

High Court judge Mr Justice Keehan, as well as the Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood, agreed with the sanction, the statement added.

The Green Party said Mr Malik had "a long history of condemning Hamas in his role in his local mosque".

A statement added: "Crucially he has shown learning from the incident and understood the offence and hurt it caused.

"Councillor Malik has the party's full backing as an effective and hard-working councillor in Bristol and hopes that this will draw a line under this serious ill-judged action."

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